Lithium Ion Battery Causes Garbage Truck Blaze In Westchester

A garbage truck in Westchester was damaged after a lithium-ion battery sparked a fire inside, setting its load of trash ablaze.

The incident happened on Wednesday, Aug. 21 just after 8 a.m., when a garbage truck was reported to be on fire on Gilbert Place in Port Chester, according to the village's fire department.

Arriving crews found that Public Works employees had already dumped the burning trash load in the street before it caught the rest of the truck on fire. Firefighters then stretched a hose to extinguish the flames in both the garbage pile and the truck, soon putting them out.

The Westchester County Department of Emergency Services Hazmat Team was later requested to the scene, as firefighters believed the fire's cause was a lithium-ion battery that was crushed by the truck's compactor.

According to the Department of Emergency Services, the battery may have been inside a weed whacker.

In response to the incident, officials from the Department of Emergency Services warned residents to avoid disposing of lithium-ion batteries in their household trash. Instead, they should be brought to the County’s Hazardous Materials Recovery Facility in Valhalla.

Those looking to make an appointment to do so can click here.